Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the fact that each and every one of us as Christians, as those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own beloved people, all of us have received from Him the gift of faith and we have seen the great love of God Himself being manifested in the flesh, in the person of Our Lord Jesus Himself, Our Lord, God and Saviour. Through Him we have witnessed the boundless love, compassion and mercy of God which He has most generously provided to us all, ever patiently and consistently despite of our own lack of faith and consistency in loving Him. God has always blessed us all and He has always shown us His providence and love, guiding us through the challenges and difficulties in life, reminding us constantly that we are never alone in our struggles and trials.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle in which we continue to hear the exhortation of the Apostle to the faithful people of God, reminding them all that they all are the beloved children of God, God’s holy people who are called to holiness and greatness. Each and every one of them were given the grace of God’s love and salvation, shown by the Lord Himself through His Church the path of righteousness and justice, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord guided His faithful on the path that they ought to follow and walk through, giving them the nudging and the patient urging to continue showing genuine and true faith that is truly grounded on a strong and organic relationship between us and God.

The Apostle reminded the Christian faithful that they are all the people whom God had called and chosen from the world, and because of such, He has brought them all into His Light and salvation, and as His Light, hope, love and all of His grace are all upon them, with them and around them, it is only right and just that they all behave in the manner that is truly worthy of those whom God had called as His own children and people. And this means they all ought to leave behind the wicked ways of their predecessors and ancestors, all the debauched life and immoral way of living that they had committed and lived through earlier on. This is an important reminder to each and every one of us as well, that in how we live our lives, we should truly show genuine love for God and for one another, and not to act in the manner that is self-serving and even scandalous to our Christian faith.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the occasion when the Lord came upon one blind man named Bartimaeus, or the son of Timaeus, who cried out to Him asking and begging upon Him to heal his eyesight and to allow him to see once again. Certainly, at that time, the Lord’s reputation greatly preceded Him and many people came to know of the miracles and many wonderful deeds and works which He had performed among the people, and therefore, Bartimaeus was there sitting and knowing that the Lord was on His way, sought Him out with great faith and dedication, taking up the courage to cry out to seek Him and to beg Him to heal him.

And we heard how the people around Bartimaeus tried to silence him and to keep him quiet, but Bartimaeus would not have any of that, and he shouted even louder, asking the Lord to have mercy on him and to heal him from his afflictions. The Lord truly knew Bartimaeus’ faith and knowing the great faith and trust he had in Him, He healed the blind man and made his eyesight whole once again. And through this miraculous example, we can see how our faith and trust in the Lord is not wasted and will not disappoint us, because God truly knows everything and all that we needed. Even when we suffer and endure trials and challenges, in the end, everything that we went through, God knows it all and He will provide for us what we need.

We are reminded therefore that God is always there by our side, guiding us, supporting and strengthening us through various means and through the many people whom we encounter in our respective paths. Each and every one of us should continue to call out to the Lord, asking Him to help us and guide us, to heal us from our afflictions and difficulties, that by His loving hands and merciful gift to us, we may be touched and empowered, made whole from our afflictions by our faith in Him like how Bartimaeus had been healed. Particularly, may all of us be healed from our afflictions of sin, which none but the Lord alone can heal us and made us whole again from. It is by God’s grace, love and mercy that together with Him, we shall be triumphant in the end with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what the Church has constantly reminded us through these readings from the Sacred Scriptures that each and every one of us are never alone in our journey of faith and life, as God is always there with us and for us, granting us the necessary guidance and strength to help us to persevere and to endure through the various obstacles and trials in our path. Let us all not be disheartened or discouraged by any kind of hardships that we may encounter in life, but strive instead to remain ever more faithful and be even more trusting and committed to God amidst all the darkness that we are facing, knowing that in the end, God will restore us to His Light and Hope just as He has restored the light and hope to Bartimaeus.

May the Lord, our most gracious and wonderful God continue to help us all in our journey and path in life so that despite all the challenges and trials that we may have to face, in each and every days and moments, we will always continue to strive and persevere amidst those difficulties, and be the source of hope and inspiration for everyone around us through our own determination and faith, in living our lives faithfully, courageously and with dedication to God despite the hardships we faced. Let us all continue to trust in the Lord and walk ever more in His Presence, devoting our time and effort to glorify His Name always through our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.